Burning the wet prairie

We've had such a mild winter - almost no winter at all - that I was concerned my annual burning of the grassy prairie garden at Federal Twist would damage early emerging plants. In past years, burning could be done as late as the end of March. Not this year.

Grasses on the bank need to be burned before new growth emerges.

All it requires is a methodical approach, burning only one plant or group of plants at a time, a running hose nearby, proper clothing to give protection from flying ash, and stable, hard-soled shoes to allow nimble movement and a convenient method for stomping out small flames.

The same bank in flame.

Apply fire to the base of a grass using a small propane torch and in a few seconds the flames leap high and the temperature shoots up to well over a thousand degrees. That's just a guess, really, but at times I need to stand back at least 15 or 20 feet to avoid being burned. The heat is enormous and could quickly cause serious injury or worse.

Here you can see the hot gasses throwing flame into the air. You dare not let this touch you or your clothing. Fortunately, it's over in a few seconds. I definitely do not recommend the inexperienced try to do this.

It's the quickest way to clear the garden of old growth for the coming year. I finished the one acre main garden in less than two hours, then the front in about thirty minutes.

After the burning, the garden is essentially gone for a few weeks. At first it's a blackened field of debris. Now some heavy rain would be a blessing to wash the ashes into the ground.

This weekend I'll get help to cut the remaining standing remnants with a weed trimmer ...

... clean up the fallen tree limbs and branches ...

... then wait for spring to come.

That's about it for major maintenance in 2012.

Oh, there's coppicing of the willows to be done before the end of the month.